When we travel, our senses are heightened. We feel more alive and we’re more free to do things we might not at home. We can be who we want. There’s an air of urgency to everything we do – we know our time here, in this place, and with these people, is limited. If we want to do something, we have to do it now. It’s no wonder then that many travelers have relationships on the road. Tell us about a “special someone” you met while traveling.

My love affair on the road is with the city of London.

It was my first time crossing the pond, and I was moving there. For six months. As soon as I arrived, I had fallen in love.

I knew my time was limited and I wanted to experience as much as I could. So I did.

I loved everything about the city. I loved Trafalgar Square, I loved trying to figure out the A to Zed maps, I loved seeing the little schoolgirls walk two by two in their school uniforms on their way to school in the morning, I loved the history. I loved the accents. I loved the pizza place on the corner of my street that would invite me in, pour me wine while I waited for an order I hadn’t even placed. I loved the Crunchy candy that you could find in the vending machines in the tube stations. I loved walking in the spitting rain. I loved going to pubs and I loved eating crisps in lieu of dinner. I loved jacket potatoes (remember, I was broke).

I loved the National Portrait Gallery. I loved the Tate Modern. I loved crossing the Thames every day from my flat in Battersea. I loved buying a monthly pass because it meant that I lived there. I loved Covent Garden. I loved peeping into the open windows of beautiful flats in Notting Hill on my way to work in Holland Park. I loved walking on Oxford Street pretending to be able to afford the clothes inside the shops.

I loved the proximity to the continent. I loved riding in black cabs. I loved meeting new people and making new friends. I loved that I learned to bartend and I love that I was unemployed. I loved that I handed out flyers on the street (now I loved that, not so much when I had to do it) and I loved that I found a job with wonderful people who helped me explore the city I loved. I loved London.

Now that I’m a worn-down exhausted city-dweller, I wonder if I would still love London. Me thinks yes.

“No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” — Samuel Johnson

For some people, no matter how much they love traveling, there’s always no place like home. Other travelers make their homes wherever they happen to be. Tell us about your home – where is it and why do you consider it your home?

This is an easy answer. Home is where my toiletries are in containers larger than 3 ounces.

I had found a great deal – JFK to Milan for the boyfriend and I. Our southernmost destination was going to be the Tuscan countryside. The nearest airport was Florence. Second closest was Rome. Oops. Or not.

We had left late afternoon from Midtown Manhattan. We took the subway to the Air Train to catch our Milan bound flight.

Once we arrived in Milan on our overnight flight (keep in mind the boyfriend doesn’t do well on overnight flights), we had to jump on a bus that would take us to the train station where we would catch a train to Florence.

The train ride from Milan to Florence was just shy of three hours, and when we arrived in Florence, we actually had to get on another bus to go to the airport to pick up our rental car.

Then we had to drive (keep in mind I don’t drive stick) to the Tuscan countryside.

We were checked in late afternoon. We walked around Sienna and had decided to head back to the hotel to eat at the restaurant in the basement. Sounds gross, but it was a Tuscan basement with cafe tables and cobblestone walls. The meal was delicious and the proximity of the bed we were to crash in was well well worth it.

“We all like to think that we have some control over the events in our lives, and a lot of the time we can fool ourselves into thinking that we really are in charge. But then something happens to remind us that the world runs by its own rules and not ours and that we’re just along for the ride.” – Taken (Sci-Fi movie)

Be thankful for what you’ve done, where you’ve been and where you are going this Thanksgiving.